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Dortmund announced his exit on deadline day, with Michy Batshuayi set to replace him.

BVB sporting director Michael Zorc explains: “Apart from the unpleasant events of recent weeks, we like to remember that the story of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at BVB for more than four years was a single success story.

“He has done great things for Borussia Dortmund at this time, scored many important goals and is part of the team that brought the DFB Cup to Dortmund in 2017.

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"We wish Pierre-Emerick all the best for his future at Arsenal.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accepts getting a deal for Aubameyang pushed through ahead of the transfer deadline was always likely to prove "complicated".

The Gabon striker was at Arsenal’s training ground on Tuesday to thrash out terms on a £180,000-a-week deal ahead of his move from Borussia Dortmund.

He was having his medical at London Colney on Wednesday morning but Dortmund will only let the deal go through once they have brought in a replacement.

That man is likely to be Michy Batshuayi, which will see Arsenal striker Giroud take the Belgian’s place at Chelsea.

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The France striker came off the bench during the 3-1 Premier League defeat at Swansea on Tuesday night, after which Wenger was pressed on whether he was confident of completing a deal for Aubameyang before the 2300 deadline on January 31.

"Every detail can make deals and the deals nowadays are so complicated that, so long as you have not finished it, you cannot be too confident - it doesn't help too much," the Arsenal manager said.

Wenger, though, did concede Giroud was likely to have played his last game for Arsenal as the France targetman goes in search of more regular first-team football to boost his own World Cup hopes.

Giroud would fall further down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium were Aubameyang to come in.

It now appears Stamford Bridge is the striker's preferred destination, allowing Giroud to remain in London, with a fee of around £18million suggested.

With the German transfer window set to close at 1700 on Wednesday, significantly earlier than in England, there could yet be some last-minute negotiating between a number of parties to push the Aubameyang deal through.

Blues boss Antonio Conte, however, stressed Belgium forward Batshuayi may yet feature in the Premier League match against Bournemouth on Wednesday evening - which would throw up another knock-on effect to any potential transfer merry-go-round ahead of the deadline.

Chelsea boosted their own defensive options on Tuesday night, with the arrival of Emerson Palmieri from Roma eventually confirmed via the club's official channels after pictures of his signing alongside director Marina Granovskaia had earlier emerged on social media.

Premier League leaders Manchester City also moved to strengthen their squad on Tuesday with a club-record signing of defender Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao.

The 23-year-old, a France Under-21 international, has joined City on a deal until 2023 which is understood to have cost some £57m and he could feature against West Brom on Wednesday.